The United States has increased enforcement of cross-border trucking regulations, including cabotage rules. This has led to thousands of Mexican B-1 drivers losing their work visas over the past year.

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For companies shipping freight between Mexico and the U.S., this matters because it can affect truck availability, freight rates, and delivery timelines.

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A B-1 driver is a foreign commercial driver who enters the U.S. using a B-1 business visa to move international freight. In this context, we are mainly talking about Mexican drivers who help move freight across the U.S.-Mexico border.

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These drivers can legally bring freight from Mexico into the United States or take freight from the United States back into Mexico. However, they generally cannot haul freight between two U.S. locations. That is where cabotage comes in.

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Cabotage is when a foreign driver or carrier moves freight from one U.S. point to another U.S. point without proper authorization. According to recent reports, more than 3,000 Mexican commercial drivers have had their visas revoked since January for alleged cabotage violations alone.

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This matters for shippers because fewer eligible cross-border drivers can mean tighter capacity. When there are fewer trucks available but freight still needs to move, companies may face higher rates, longer lead times, and more difficulty finding reliable options for urgent or last-minute shipments.

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Mexico is also the United States’ largest trading partner, which means cross-border freight is a major part of the North American supply chain. Any disruption in available trucking capacity can create challenges for manufacturers, distributors, retailers, and other businesses that rely on freight moving between the two countries.

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As the Mexico freight market continues to shift, having a logistics partner with multiple solutions becomes even more important.

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RCS can support cross-border freight with flexible capacity options, including direct Mexico-to-U.S. capacity, interchange partnerships, transload solutions, warehousing support, spot freight, project freight, contract freight, and last-minute capacity when the market gets tight.

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If your business ships freight between Mexico and the United States, RCS can help review your lanes, understand your current challenges, and find the best option to keep your freight moving.

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